CALANGUTE: Failure on the part of the government to appoint executive engineers at the BDO offices in the state is hampering the execution of the development works in village panchayats. The works estimated to cost less than Rs 5 lakh require technical sanction.
The panchayats are complaining that the files that are being sent to the BDO offices are not cleared for months together. The reason that is often being given is that the BDO offices do not have executive engineers.
There are only junior engineers at the BDO offices. The files pertaining to the works in the panchayat jurisdiction such as asphalting of roads, road widening, construction of roads, desilting of nullahs, construction of drains, and construction of culverts, which are estimated to cost less than Rs 5 lakh need technical sanction for their execution.
A source in the Bardez BDO office informed this daily that the panchayats send files to this office after taking resolutions to carry out the works in their respective jurisdiction.
After a resolution is passed, a junior engineer along with panchayat member and sarpanch does a site inspection and estimate is made, and then the file pertaining to the work is sent to the executive engineer for technical sanction. So, the file is either sent to WRD or PWD. Here the files are held up as the executive engineers are loaded with their own departmental works.
If the BDO offices have their own executive engineers, the files could be cleared faster.
A source in the Mapusa BDO office said that there are 33 panchayats under this office and are having 2 technical assistants and 3 junior engineers.
“A single JE clears more than 1000 files in a year. Unfortunately the office has only one computer, given to the junior engineers and there are 5 officers who would like to use the same computer for their work,” the source added.
The source from the Bardez BDO office informed this daily that suggestion was made to promote junior engineers.
The zilla panchayats in North and South have their own executive engineers and so do the municipalities, the source added.
Bardez BDO Krishnakant Pangam said that he has sent a recommendation to the director of panchayats and it is up to him to take a decision on that.
When contacted the director of panchayats Gurudas Pilarnekar said that there is no need of an executive engineer at the BDO office and added that our department can manage the work.
“Appointment of an executive engineer will put more burden on the exchequer. We avail services of WRD and PWD executive engineers,” Pilarnekar added.
When questioned as to why the Mapusa BDO office has been given only one computer, the director was surprised and said that he will contact the BDO in this regard.